I agree that these darts are too large. Either two darts front and back would be better or more ease around the body. Also, the side seam would not sew together easily, the shape of back and front are not consistent. I would use the shape of the front on both back and front if I wanted a more shaped waist and would use the shape of the back, if I wanted less shaping.

I think that you have moved the some of the waist dart from the side seam into the front/back dart. It doesn't look like the overall waist measurements has been changed. I think you made the hip larger?

The f/b waist darts are too large to sew together and be flattering. I would move some of it to the side seam, or put 2 darts f/b, or both.

The side seam is just fine. This is a larger than usual difference 40 - 32 - 46, but I wanted you to see what is happening.

Before she was 40 - 32 - 40 so the bust plus ease and the hip plus ease matched. That is why they both touched at the side.

But with the hip so much larger the bust is split and the hip split, but since the bust is 6 inches smaller they can't touch when laying flat, but will be fine put together.

And yes, she needs to use the two dart option for the princess. I know that this is not a popular choice, but if the goal is a great fit, then use the extra dart.

Do you think other will comment on the darts with the princess lines? They won't even notice.

I was teaching a class on pants and students wanted to get rid of the front darts because they were &quotorky". I had to go around the room and point out the front darts on the pants I was wearing because they didn't notice them.

One of the reasons I really love princess seams is that you get the dart control, but don't have to worry about the "dimple" that you can get at the end of a regular dart. That's the only reason I don't like darts - I perpetually either create a "dimple" at the end of the dart, or have to fiddle with the darts numerous times to get both left and right to end at nearly the same height.

I do like these little quizzes (unfortunately, I don't get to log onto the forum often so I usually see them well after Karen has revealed the answer....). They're great to get you thinking and to help you bend your mind around exactly how moving or changing darts can alter the look of a pattern

Interesting! I would move the placement of the shoulder dart outward, so the princess seam lines created a more flattering shape. With narrow shoulders and large bust, the seams are likely to look like this.../ \...or this...( )...as they go from shoulder to waist. I think it is more flattering when the seams are farther apart at the shoulder and closer together at the bust, like this....\ /. But now we are really into details!

Trish, I so agree with you. Prior to buying PMB, I made a Vogue pattern knit top with princess seams. It was a lovely pattern and turned out well. However, I was much heavier than I am now and the shape of the curves accentuated my shape. Since I am a pear, with very narrow shoulders, it made my hips look even larger than they were. Princess seams allow for easy alterations, but don't necessarily create the best design for some of us.